County Counsel - Jeffrey S. Blanck

THE OFFICE

The Office of the County Counsel is the legal advisor to the County of Humboldt. The Office provides legal advice and representation to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, County Elected and Appointed Officials and departments. The Office serves the Board of Supervisors and works to understand and further the needs and goals of the Board. The Office provides legal guidance and support, crafts legal strategies, gives training, drafts and reviews legal documents, analyzes legislation and represents the County in litigation. Upon request, the County Counsel’s office also acts as legal advisor for the Humboldt County Grand Jury and various Special Districts. Government Code sections 26529, 27640 et seq.; and Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Resolution No. 931, adopted in 1956, established the Office of the County Counsel.

The Office of the County Counsel includes a Code Enforcement Unit whose function is to assist the County in abating public nuisances. The Code Enforcement Unit acts upon referrals it receives from County departments and other public agencies. Some of the tasks that the Code Enforcement Unit performs are investigation, inspections, abatement and compliance work related to the uses, maintenance and safety of land structures, including zoning, public nuisance, neighborhood preservation, hazardous materials, waste disposal, air pollution, Uniform Building and Housing Codes, public health and safety, and abatement of abandoned vehicles.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Office of the County Counsel is committed to providing the highest quality of legal advice, representation and services, in a timely and responsive manner, to assist the County, its governing Board of Supervisors and other clients, to promote the public interest and to aid the County in carrying out its mandatory and discretionary functions relating to the health, safety and welfare of County residents. The Office is committed to providing creative legal assistance to the Board and County offices to enable them to carry out their policy goals, and to provide assertive representation of the County in civil litigation and administrative hearings.
Note: The Office of the County Counsel does not provide legal advice to the general public.